<![CDATA[Indonesia is a multilingual country that has various ethnic languages based on its ethnicity and region. For that, maintaining the ethnic language is a crucial issue in Indonesia. The purpose of this study is to portray fisherman children’s ability to read in the ethnic language (Madurese language) and investigate how the local Education policy supports the ethnic language of the fisherman community. The present study approach employed a mixed-method design. Sixteen (aged around 10 – 11 years old) Madurese children were involved in this study. Reading aloud, reading comprehension tests, and interview were used as the instruments in this study. The study was conducted within 3 weeks. The results of the study revealed that (1) the children's reading comprehension is much affected by the Madurese speech level (formal and informal) of vocabulary mastery and topics in the text. (2) children’s reading aloud was influenced by the L2 (National language) orthography system. (3) the absence of teachers who can teach the Madurese language is the most prominent reason for not providing the Madurese Language as local content in the primary school. This study highlights the critical need for local government intervention to provide qualified Madurese language teachers in school to preserve and promote ethnic language literacy. Additionally, it underscores the importance of early childhood exposure to literacy practices in within language within the family environment.]]>
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